One of Bourne's most distinguished businessmen during the early years of the 20th century was A E K Wherry whose advisory work in agriculture in wartime was so valued by the government that he was awarded the OBE.

Albert Edward Kerkham Wherry was born in 1874, the eldest son of Alderman William Wherry, and was destined to play a major role in the family business founded by his grandfather in 1806 and which survives until the present day. He eventually became chairman of Wherry and Sons Ltd and did much to enlarge the scope of the business, also becoming chairman of Messrs Mays Chemical Manure Company and a director of Messrs Mellors Ltd of Brighouse until this company was eventually acquired by J and J Coleman Ltd in 1962.

But his most important work was carried out during the Great War of 1914-18 when he was appointed adviser to the Ministry of Food and the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries and in May 1920 he was awarded the OBE for his conspicuous service on various government committees. The honour spurred him on to greater achievements. After the war, the government was considering the establishment of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany at Cambridge and he became a member of the group appointed to investigate similar organisations that had been successfully established in Scandinavia. The work was a tremendous success and he remained a fellow of the institute until his death.

He was also the architect of the original Wheat Act of 1932 after being appointed to the Wheat Commission which administered the legislation and serving as a member until it was disbanded in 1946.

During the Great War, he was founder and possibly the chief instigator in the formation of the National Association of Corn and Agricultural Merchants in 1917 and he became the first honorary treasurer, holding the office for the next 40 years. A mark of the high esteem in which he was held for his part in this organisation can be found in a report of a presentation made to him carried by the Stamford Mercury on Friday 12th July 1918:

On Monday, Mr Albert E K Wherry was the recipient of a handsome silver tea service and war bonds from the members of the National Association of Corn and Agricultural Merchants. The presentation was in connection with the work which Mr Wherry had rendered to the association during the past 18 months. Mainly through the influence of Mr Wherry, a comparatively small number of merchants decided to form an association of which he became the honorary secretary. The work was for the first nine months carried on at Bourne under Mr Wherry's personal supervision and with the untiring energy which he devoted to it, the membership of the association exceeded 700 by the time the inaugural meeting was held in April of last year, and before the office of the association was removed to London, in October last, the membership had reached over 1,500, and at the present time exceeds 2,000. The presentation took place at the offices of the association on Monday afternoon last, prior to the ordinary business of the association. The President (Mr L Hampson, King's Lynn), made the presentation in felicitous terms and referred to the fact that Mr Wherry's work was not confined to the benefits of the members of the association but that he had served on the Government committees which acted in the capacity of advisers to the various Government departments having control of cereal food. Mr Lawrence Weaver, Director of Supplies of the Food Production Department of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, also referred to the value of the work which Mr Wherry had rendered to his department. Mr Wherry, in acknowledging the presentation, expressed his thanks not only to the Council but to the whole of the members of the association and to Mr Weaver for kind reference to his work on the various Government committees. Whilst his efforts on behalf of the association had been directed mainly for the benefit of the members as a whole, when he had served on the Government committees, he had always given what he considered the best advice from a national standpoint. It may be noted that it was originally intended to present Mr Wherry with a motor car but owing to the present [petrol] restrictions [the Great War was still in progress] it was deemed advisable to invest the money in the War Loan. An album containing the names of the subscribers and an illuminated address accompanied the presentation.

Mr Wherry was also a member of the Seed Trade Association, becoming its president in 1929, and an honorary member of the National Association of British and Irish Millers. After attending the Manchester Corn Exchange for 50 years, the directors presented him with a free pass to mark the occasion.

His private interests were equally varied, being a steward of the Three Choirs Festival, a member of the Lincolnshire Architectural Society and Archaeological Society, the Lincolnshire Naturalists Union and one of the oldest members of the Spalding Gentlemen's Society. He was also president of the Butterfield Hospital at Bourne for 28 years and he served a term as churchwarden at the Abbey Church where he also sang in the choir. Other offices included the local secretaryship of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, chairman of the Income Tax Commissioners for Aveland, and he had also served as a magistrate since 1939. For several years, he was a sidesman at St Mary's Church, Stamford, and served as their diocesan representative, a position he held until only a few months before his death.

In 1902, he had married Miss Evelyn Grummitt, youngest daughter of Alderman E J Grummitt, of Folkingham, and from 1941, they made their home at Stamford. They had a daughter, Miss Margaret Wherry, and a son, Mr E K Wherry.

Albert Wherry died at his home in Stamford after a long illness on Saturday 2nd June 1962, aged 88. The funeral was held at the Abbey Church the following Wednesday and was attended by family mourners and friends as well as representatives from the national seed trade and many local firms and organisations. The service was conducted by the Vicar of Bourne, Canon H P Laurence and the Vicar of Newark, Canon John Grinter, whose father was vicar at Bourne during the period Mr Wherry was active in the affairs of the Abbey Church. The organist was Mr E J C Warner, of St Martin's Church, Stamford. The entire staff of Wherry and Sons Ltd attended the funeral and the coffin was carried to its last resting place in the town cemetery by one of the firm's lorries.

See also    Wherry and Sons Ltd     William Wherry